John d



2 Sheets-Shem; 1. J. D. HALL.

Man'n Torpedo.

Patented Dec. '20, 1864 Invent)? 2 Sheetssheet 2.

J. B. HALL.

Marine Torpedo.

Rammed, Dec. 20, 1864;.

I s X MEu'sse UNITED STATES PA ENT OFFICE;

JOHN D. HALL, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ,A's'sIeNoa To HIMSELF AND-OSBORN CONRAD, or SAME rLAoa IMPROVEMENTlN METHODS OF REM OVlNG lIARBOROBSTRUCTlONS.

Specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. 45,562, dated December 20, 1864.

To all whom 'i't may concern:

Be it knownthat I, JonN D. HALL, of the city of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have.

invented a new and improved means for cutting, parting, or removing piles,-chains, cables, bo0ms,.or similar obstructions from: harbors, harbor-entrances, channels, rivers, or other places, for the purpose-of enabling the ingress or egress or passage of vessels or ships of .war, or for other purposes; and Iidoz hereby declare that the following-is a full and exact description thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reierence'inarked thereon, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal elevation of my invention attached to a vessel of the monitor class. Fig. 2-is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is a cutting-shot suitable for cutting piles under water. Fig. 4 is a rectan gularfaced shot suit able for parting cables or booms in connection with the massive iron jaw B, Corresponding parts in the different figures are represented by the same letter.

. This invention consists in constructing upon the fore part of an iron-clad or othersuitable vessel a small turret or tower for theprotee tion of a suitable cannon and the necessary men to operate the same, of placing upon the said vessel, at'or near the intersection of the stem and water-line, a massive ironjaw, and of attaching to the bowlof the said vessel a strong iron fork in such a manner that the same may be made to projectdirectlyand horizontally in front of the vessel or be inclined at an angle of about forty degrees, so that the front or forkedend shall be about as low in the I water as the keel of the vessel, while the other end is in'the proper position, at or near the said iron jaw, to carry any chain, cable, boom, or similar obstruction which may be placed, stretched, or supported across the channel, river, harbor, or passageway into the said jaw or notch as the vessel moves forward,.so that the same may be readily parted by the discharging of a suitable shot along one side of the said jaw, the shot and the jaw operating in the manner of a powerful shears.

It consists, further, in so attaching the said.

fork to the vessel that the same may be so elevated that as the vessel moves forward the for]: will embracean'y pile or tsi nilar obstruc.

tion was maybe lstajndin driver 1,01" supported iii' t-he'. channel or; passage wayuof the saidvessel at any desired height above the levelbf the ,"vessePs keel, thus; bringing the' vessel in to such a;r elati-v e position toil he pile [0 9 iti'u m that a v il l ilbl refitting? or sh discfhargedjfrom the said cannon rat 5 a proper ai gle of' jd'epression' and tlieproper in stant, will v f tl fesaidpilej at such a depth below the's' irface of thehwater as will enable thevessehto pass;overihsztftyg'gx Toj ena'iblejothers-to construct any; invention and appjlyith 'af ame".to useplfwill proceed to describe it' it'h reference tothe drawingslV This invention may be applied to any vessel,

of suitable size,;though ILwill-fi-rst describeit as; applied to ayessel, of the, monitor class, oni the'suipp'o 'tion thatthe sameis to be used within "the 'if'angeof anjen einys guns; 3 35;

. On thetbrepartof the yessel l would will, struct an. iron turret ortower, E, of suitable dimensions, to admit of the cannon F beingoperated therein, and ofsuflicientimp egnaa bility to protect Ithesaid cannon and its. op erat-ors. 1 This It'urret may be comparatively 7 small and l'ow, as the gull'F,ShOlll(1j1bB short, a and the floor of the turret may besunk somev distance below the .vessels deck.- .The! gunF' may be quite short. Probablya boreof bee-- tweenthirty inches and four feet in; lengthand between six and ten inches in diameter would be suitable for mostpractical purposes. This" gunI would rifle with'four straight grooves, one groove at each of the termini ofthe vertical and horizpntaldiameters, infsuch a manner that the wings or flanges of the shots repre 1 sented in Figs. 3 and 4 wiil tit them,ai:d thus.

cause the cutting-edge'N, Fig.3, to retain its horizontal position, andthe rectangular face I, Fig. 4, its vertical position. The bed y of these shots from J to K should be of sntficient length I to enable the pistou-shapedcnd K to be pushed against the powder, while the portions'IJ and M protrude, from the mouth of the gun. The shot represented in Fig, 3 is intended for-cup ting or removing piles theone in Fig; 4 for parting or removing chains, cables, booms, or

similar obstructions. Probably. a common cylindrical shot would answer all practical pur: poses for parting. chains, cables, booms, ,or

other similar obstructions; but as the one represented in, Fig. 4 may be preferable, I have concluded to represent it. The first object in making these flange or wing shots is to produce the proper reduction in their weight, notwithstanding their greater than usual length. The second object is to enable the pile-cutter,

Fig. 3, to enter water. at an acute an gle and to proceed therein in a straight line.

To enable the gun to be sutticien tly depressed for a shot to strike a pile at the desired point, I would construct in the prow or fore part of the vessel the inclined shot-channel H to as great a depth as practicable or necessary, and would then locate the turret E as far from the prow of thevessel as possible and yet iron bar G may be attached to the vertical or inclined-sides or walls of the said channel, the object of said bar being to prevent the shot from glancing or deflecting from a right line I at or near the surfaceof, the water, the shot being discharged in such a manner that the ed geof the top flange thereof shall in its flight bear against the lower face ofthe said bar. This bar may, however, be entirely dispensed with in practice, asI am of the opinion that the, shot; shown in. Fig. 3 will enter water at a smallanglewithout .being considerably deftlectedifroni a: right line. 7,. The massive jaw B may be of either cast or jwroughtiron. It should lie upon a plane level surface, and be soprovided with a bolt or bolts, aand 'v, and the spring orcushion w and the 'slotfe', or .other suitable devices, as to permit. the necessary recoil to relieve the vessel from shock. I j. The "inclined iron frame, consisting of the pieces A, the braces'c, o, and n, and the crosspiece at, turns on the bolt d, according asthe decked vessel, it would only be necessary to slideG is forced forward or allowed to recede fjby thcoperation of the screw D, thus causing ,piec'e's Atoassume any desired angle of iclina'tion between the one represented in the ra'wings and a horizontalliue. The slide 0 may consist of a simple iron bar, ,and should slide through 'a water-tight stutting box. I v

The aforesaid iron frame Lwould, as far as "practicable, construct of wrought-iron pipes, the ends thereof being closedwatet tighiifso asto'exclude the water tl'ierelrom and thus ble weight to the bow of the vesscl. "It-will als'o, thus constitutetlf indve easily through the water, and thus not materially interfere with the speed or management of the vessel.

, The operation of this, invention is as follcws: Suppose an iron or other cable or booin is suspended across a channel or vesselspath,

and it be desired to pass along the said channel, I would load the gun F with the shot shown in Fig. 4, or any other suitable shot, the rectangular face standing vertically, and would so aim the said gun that the said shot inits flight will pass along and close to the jaw or notch b, and would so depress the frame or fork A that the force or forked end thereof will be about as low as the vessels keel. Then as the vessel advances'the frame-A will run under any cable or boom which the vessel would not run over, and thus by the continued advance of the vessel carry the same upward until it'falls into the notch 11, at which instant the gunner discharges his gun, aimed as above described. The cable being thus instantly parted, the vessel may continue on in her course. The jaw 'B, having recoiled or been carried forward'by the force of the shot, may now be drawn back to its original position by any suitable power applied to the bolt c. Agaimsuppose it were desired to remove piles or other similar obstructions from a channel or harbor or other place, so as to enable the passage of vessels, I would, by means of. the

screw D, or any othersuitable device, force the slide 0 forward until the frame A assumes the position shown by the dotted lines, Fig. 1, or any other desired or suitable position, and the gun F being loaded with the shot, shown in Fig. 3, or any other suitable shot having the cutting-edge "N in a'horizontal position, and being aimed'at the proper angle of depression, I would advance the vessel until the fork n embraces and. comes in contact with the pile it is desired to remove, at which instant I would discharge the gun, the shot passing under the guide or bar G and cutting the pile, as shown in Fig. 1. It may be noticed that the advancing pressure of the vessel against thepile will render a comparatively light blow from such a shot sufficient to destroy a large pile when the shot is discharged at the proper instant.

To apply this invention to a common highconstr'uct a suitable portholc through or by one side of the stem at or near the water-line, theframeAbeingattached about at the waterline, the jawB protruding a sufficient distance through the said port-hole, and the gun F being placed within the vessel'in the proper Witnesses J. ALEXANDER SIMPSON, Osnonn Connan. 

